The charges against Staff Sgt. Joseph W. Chamblin and Staff Sgt. Edward W. Deptola are in addition to administrative punishments made public last month for three other Marines involved in the dehumanizing video.

When the video was uploaded to the Internet early this year and viewed all over the world, it was seen as harming the already failed US mission in Afghanistan. Afghans, both civilians and insurgents, became enraged by the video.

But the criminal charges might be cold comfort for most Afghans. Many at the time expressed outrage, but not surprise, insisting the offense was not out of the ordinary. “Such things happen all the time, and people talk about it but media hardly report them,” said Karimi, a shopkeeper from the southern city of Kandahar at the time.